ጠ/ሚ ዶር አብይ አህመድ በፓርላማ ያደረጉት ታሪካዊ ንግግር

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11 Ethiopian journalists, bloggers and activists rearrested

11 journalists, bloggers and activists were arrested by Ethiopian security forces on 25th March 2018, including recently released political prisoners.

Those arrested include journalists Eskinder Nega and Temesgen Desalegn, Zone9 bloggers Mahlet Fantahun, Befekadu Hailu, blogger Zelalem Workaggnhu and political activists Andualem Arage, Addisu Getinet, Yidnekachewu Addis, Sintayehu Chekol, Tefera Tesfaye and Woynshet Molla.

The arrests follow the declaration of a national state of emergency on 16th February by the Cabinet for a period of six months, after Prime Minister and Chairman of the country's ruling coalition Hailemariam Desalegn unexpectedly resigned.

All journalists and activists detained on March 25, are held in a small, 3 by 8 meter room along with other 40 inmates. There are over 40 prisoners in a single room, unable to sleep properly. All of them have been spending sleepless nights because there isn’t enough space to sleep, a serious sanitation problem like unventilated room, filthy toilet which is very disturbing even for the visitors let alone the prisoners.

These prisoners have been told by the commander of the police station that the Command Post is the one who detained them and it is up to it to release them.

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The New EPRDF Chairman Must Respond Positively to the People’s Demand

Patriotic Ginbot 7 Statment

The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) government has finally elected Dr. Abiy Ahmed as its new party Chairman to replace the outgoing Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. While Dr. Abiy’s election answers the question of who will replace Hailemariam, it also raises two other important questions: whether the replacement represents the usual trickery from the TPLF playbook, or is it a genuine effort by reformists within the regime to address the demands of the Ethiopian people? We will soon learn the answers to these questions.

In the last three years, there has been an internal struggle within the EPRDF between those who are bent on maintaining the status quo and those who want to upend the political system in response to the people’s demand for fundamental change. If Dr. Abiy’s ascendancy to the premiership represents a triumph for the reformist wing within EPRDF to bring about fundamental changes to peacefully transition Ethiopia from dictatorship to democracy, Patriotic Ginbot 7 (PG 7) will view it as a step in the right direction.

It’s no secret that Dr. Abiy’s election comes at a critical time in Ethiopian history. Currently, the country is engulfed by massive protests with people demanding freedom, justice, and respect for fundamental human rights, civil liberties and inclusive governance. In this process, enormous sacrifice has been paid by the Ethiopian people through thousands innocent lives lost and too much bloodshed, agony, and anguish. After all these sacrifices, it must be understood by all that the quest for real change towards a genuine democratic political order shall remain a non-negotiable factor. Any agent of change that does not address this fundamental truth will invite the people’s wrath upon himself.

As the elected chairman of EPRDF, it’s a foregone conclusion that Dr. Abiy will be sworn in as the next Prime Minister. If his premiership is to mean the triumph of reform within EPRDF, it’s imperative to set the right agenda for change and take the following concrete measures starting on day one:

-Release our comrade Andargachew Tsege and all political prisoners throughout the country without any pre-conditions;

-Revoke immediately the illegal and draconian State of Emergency and lift all restrictions on fundamental human rights and civil liberties;

-Stop the killing of civilians and restructure the security forces that have been committing the killings with impunity;

-Communicate a clear roadmap to convene a national conference of all stakeholders to discuss about the future all-inclusive transitional arrangement.

While applauding the initial success of the reformist group, we are also cognizant of the fact that there are still powerful elements within EPRDF that are not happy with the result of the election and we expect them to use the deep state within their control  to stall and frustrate change. It’s necessary to keep an eye and stand guard against any such potential sabotage.

Since its inception, Patriotic Ginbot 7 has been operating under a firm principle of working collaboratively with change agents from any quarter as long as genuine democracy is their end game. At the same time, until the transition from dictatorship to democracy becomes a reality, we urge the Ethiopian people who have paid immense sacrifice to continue their determined and just struggle for freedom, justice, and democracy until victory.

Justice, liberty, and Unity for the people of Ethiopia!

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Joint civil society letter to Ethiopian Prime Minister-designate on recent arrests of journalists and human rights defenders

Prime Minister-Designate, Dr. Abiy Ahmed Ali

Cc: Abadula Gemeda, Speaker of the House of Peoples’ Representative

29 March 2018

Your Excellencies,

The undersigned international, regional and national human rights and development organisations write to express our grave concern over the recent arrest of 11 Ethiopian journalists, bloggers and political opposition leaders amid a new crackdown on fundamental freedoms. Such measures undermine the Ethiopian government’s international human rights obligations as well as recent political commitments to initiate an era of widespread democratic political reform. As you assume your position as Prime Minister, we urge the Ethiopian Government to immediately and unconditionally release all human rights defenders, political activists and journalists, including the 11 individuals detained this week.

On 25 March 2018, Ethiopian police and security forces arrested journalists Eskinder Nega and Temesgen Desalegn, Zone9 bloggers Mahlet Fantahun, Befekadu Hailu, blogger Zelalem Workaggnhu and political activists Andualem Arage, Addisu Getinet, Yidnekachewu Addis, Sintayehu Chekol, Tefera Tesfaye and Woynshet Molla.

The arrests were carried out while the defenders were attending a private meeting in Addis Ababa at the home of journalist Temesgen Desalegn. The private gathering was held in recognition of the recent release of thousands of political prisoners amidst ongoing and widespread protests against political marginalisation and land grabbing in the Oromia and Amhara regions which began in late 2015. The eleven are currently being held at Gotera-Pepsi Police Station in Addis Ababa.

Days earlier on 8 March, authorities arrested Seyoum Teshome, a prominent blogger and university lecturer. Teshome, who is a frequent contributor to Ethiothinkthank.com and was detained for three months under the previous State of Emergency, is currently being held in the notorious Maekelawi Prison in Addis Ababa.

While the authorities have not publicly indicated if charges will be brought against the defenders, under the February reinstatement of the national State of Emergency, groups and individuals must seek permission from the Command Post to host public gatherings.

Prior to their release in February, several of the defenders had previously been imprisoned for periods ranging from two to seven years in relation to their legitimate work as journalists, bloggers and political activists. Eskinder Nega and the Zone9 Bloggers are recipients of international awards celebrating their contribution to independent journalism and human rights.

The arrests follow the declaration of a national State of Emergency on 16 February by the Cabinet for a period of six months. The State of Emergency includes a number of draconian and overbroad provisions. Among other worrying violations of fundamental democratic freedoms, the State of Emergency imposes a blanket ban on all protests, the dissemination of any publication deemed to “incite and sow discord” including those who criticise the State of Emergency and allows for warrantless arrest.

Such measures are contrary to international human rights law and the Ethiopian Constitution and are counter-productive to peace and security. The invocation of the State of Emergency criminalises dissent and persecutes human rights defenders, protesters and journalists.

We urge the government of Ethiopia to: (i) immediately release all human rights defenders, political opponents and journalists detained for exercising their legitimate rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly; (ii) end all forms of harassment against journalists and all citizens with critical views on national matters and; (iii) review and amend the State of Emergency to ensure that any limitations on fundamental rights are in line with international human rights obligations.

Sincerely,

Access Now

African Law Foundation (Nigeria)

ARTICLE 19

Asia Democracy Network (ADN)

Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)

Asian Legal Resource Center (ALRC)

Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE)

Association for Progressive Communications (APC)

The Article 20 Network

Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN)

Bytes4All Pakistan

Caucasus Civil Initiatives Center

Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation

Commonwealth Human Right Initiative (CHRI)

DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)

End Impunity

Endorois Welfare Council (Kenya)

Ethiopia Human Rights Project (EHRP)

Freedom House

Front Line Defenders

Karapatan (Philippines)

Global Participe (Republic of the Congo)

Greenpeace Africa

International Civil Society Centre

International Service for Human Rights

JOINT – Ligas de ONGs em Mocambique (Mozambique)

Odhikar (Bangladesh)

OutRight Action International

Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum

PEN International

Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

Sengwer Indigenous Peoples Programme

Uganda National NGO Forum (UNNGOF)

West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI)

West African Human Rights Defenders’ Network (WAHRDN)

World Movement for Democracy

World Organization Against Torture

Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA)

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አዲሱ የኢህአዴግ ሊ/መንበር የኢትዮጵያን ህዝብ ጥያቄ በተግባር መመለስ አለበት!- አርበኞች ግንቦት 7

አቶ ኃ/ማሪያም ደሳለኝ የሥልጣን መልቀቂያ ጥያቄ ካቀረቡ ከአርባ ቀን በኋላ እና በመጀመሪያ የኢህአዴግ ስራ አስፈጻሚ ኮሚቴ ለብዙ ቀናት ቀጥሎም ምክር ቤቱ ከአንድ ሳምንት በላይ የፈጀ ስብሰባ ከተቀመጠ በኋላ ዶ/ር አቢይ አህመድን የግንባሩ ሊ/ቀመንበር አድርጎ መርጧል። የዶ/ር አቢይ የኢህአዴግ ሊ/መንበር ሆኖ መመረጥ የሚቀጥለዉ የኢትዮጵያ ጠ/ሚኒስትር ማን ሊሆን ይችላል በሚል በአትኩሮት ሲጠበቅ ለነበረው ጥያቄ የመጀመሪያ ዙር ምላሽ ሰጥቷል። ለመሆኑ የዶ/ር አብይ መመረጥ የተለመደው የወያኔ የሴራ አካሄድ ውጤት ነዉ? ወይስ ኢህአዴግ የህዝብን እውነተኛ የለውጥ ፍላጎት ሰምቶ መንገዱን ለማስተካከል የወሰደዉ ዕርምጃ ነዉ? የኢህአዴግ ዉሳኔ እነዚህን ጥያቄዎች ያጠቃለለ ጥልቅ ውይይት ተካሂዶበት የተወሰነ መሆኑንና ያለመሆኑን በቅርቡ የምንሰማውና በተግባርም የምናየው ይሆናል።

የዶ/ር አብይ መመረጥ ኢህአዴግ ውስጥ ያሉት እስካሁን የህወሀት ሎሌ ሆነው ሲያገለግሉ የነበሩት ድርጅቶችና በህወሓት ውስጥም ያሉ አንዳንድ ለውጥ ፈላጊዎች በጋራ አሸንፈው ከሆነና እነ ዶ/ር አብይ በተለይ በኦህዴድ ምክር ቤት ስብሰባ መግለጫ ላይ ያወጡትን ለውጥ ፈላጊ አቅጣጫ ተግባራዊ ለማድረግ ወስነው ከሆነ እሰየው ነው። የኢህአዴግ ዉሳኔ በአገራችን በኢትዮጵያ ላይ የተደቀነውን ከፍተኛ አደጋ ለመከላከል፥ ችግሩን በሰላማዊ መንገድ ለመፍታትና ብሎም ወደ እውነተኛ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ስርዓት ለመሸጋገር የሚያስችል እንቅስቃሴ ውስጥ የሚገባ ከሆነ ለውጥ ፈላጊው ህዝብ ሁሉ የሚፈልገው ነውና በአዎንታዊ መልኩ የምንወስደው ነው።

ዶ/ር አቢይ አህመድ የኢህአዴግ ሊ/መንበር ሆነዉ የተመረጡት ኢትዮጵያ በከፍተኛ የለውጥ ማዕበል በምትናጥበትና መብቴና ነጻነቴ ይከበር ብሎ የሚጮህ ህዝብ በየአደባባዩ በሚገደልበት ወቅት ስለሆነ ከዶ/ር አቢይ ተቀዳሚና ዋና ዋና ሃላፊነቶች ዉስጥ አንዱ ኢትዮጵያ በአጭር ግዜ ዉስጥ የተረጋጋች አገር እንድትሆን ማድረግና የህዝብን የመብት፥ የፍትህና የነጻነት ጥያቄዎች መመለስ መሆን አለበት ብሎ አርበኞች ግንቦት ሰባት በጥብቅ ያምናል።

ባለፉት ሁለትና ሦስት አመታት ኢህአዴግ ዉስጥ በለውጥ ፈላጊና “ያለዉ ይበቃናል” በሚሉ ሀይሎች መካከል ከፍተኛ ወስጠ-ፓርቲ ትግል ሲካሄድ እንደቆየ ሁላችንም ስንሰማዉ የቆየ ጉዳይ ነዉ። የዶ/ር አቢይ መመረጥ ይህ በሁለቱ ሀይሎች መካከል የተካሄደዉ ትግል በለዉጥ ፈላጊ ሀይሎች ድል መደምደሙን የሚያመለክት ከሆነ ኢትዮጵያ ዉስጥ ሁሉን አቀፍ የሽግግር ሂደት ሊመጣ የሚችልበት ሁኔታ መኖሩን ያመለክታልና በሂደት የሚታይ መልካም አዝማሚያ ነዉ። በሌላ በኩል ግን የዶ/ር አቢይ ማሸነፍ እንደተለመደዉ በህወሓት አጋፋሪነት የተመራና ለገዢዉ ፓርቲ የመረጋጊያ ግዜ ለመግዛት የተደረገ ሴራ ዉጤት ከሆነ የህዝብ ተመራጮች ነን የሚሉ የኢህአዴግ አባላት የህዝብን ትክክለኛ ፍላጎትና ጥያቄ በፍጸም አልተረዱም ማለት ነዉ። ህዝብ “በህወሓት መገዛት” ይብቃ፤ አምባገነንነት ይብቃ፤ የህዝብ መብት ይከበር፤ ህዝቡ በመረጠው መንግሥት ይተዳደር እያለ የህይወት መስዋዕትነት በሚከፍልበት ወቅት የህዝብ ተወካዮች የህወሓትን ጥቅምና ፍላጎት ለማሳካት መሯሯጣቸዉ የህዝብ ጠላት እንጂ የህዝብ ተወካዮች ሊያሰኛቸዉ አይችልም።

ከላይ እንደተጠቀሰዉ ዶ/ር አቢይ የግንባሩ ሊ/መንበር ሆነዉ ሲመረጡ የአገሪቱም ጠ/ሚኒስትር ሆነዉ መመረጣቸዉን የሚያመለክት ስለሆነ አገሪቷ ወዴት መጓዝ እንዳለባት የሚጠቁም አቅጣጫ ስልጣኑን ከተረከቡ እለት ጀምሮ በሚያደርጓቸው ንግግሮች ብቻ ሳይሆን በተግባር ማሳየት የመጀመሪያ ስራቸዉ መሆን አለበት። ይህ አቅጣጫ የማሳየት ስራ ብዙ ነገሮችን የሚያጠቃልል ቢሆንም ከዚህ የሚከተሉት ዋና ዋናዎቹ ናችዉ :-

-ጓዳችንን አንዳርጋቸው ጽጌን ጨምሮ ሁሉንም የፖለቲካ እስረኞች፤ ያለምንም ቅድመ ሁኔታ በአስቸኳይ መፍታት

-ህገ-ወጡን የአስቸኳይ ግዜ አዋጅ ያለምንም ቅድመ ሁኔታ ማንሳት

-በህዝብ ላይ የሚፈጸሙ ግድያዎችን በአስቸኳይ ማስቆምና ለዚህ ዕርምጃ ዋስትና እንዲሆን የአገሪቱን የደህንነት ተቋሞች እንደገና በአዲስ መልክ ማዋቀር

-የአስቸኳይ ግዜ አዋጁ እንዲታገዱ ያደረጋቸዉና አዋጁ ከመታወጁ በፊትም ቢሆን በፍጹም ተከብረዉ የማያዉቁትን መደራጀትን፥መሰብሰብን፥ መቃወምን፥ ሃሳብን በነጻነት መግለጽንና የህግ የበላይነትን የመሳሰሉ መሠረታዊ የሰዉ ልጅ መብቶችን ሙሉ በሙሉ ተግባራዊ እንዲሆኑ ማድረግ

-ኢትዮጵያን ወደ ትክክለኛ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ስርአት መውሰድ የሚችል ሁሉን አቀፍ ውይይትና የሽግግር ሂደት በአስቸኳይ ማስጀመር፥

የኢህአዴግ ምክር ቤት ስብሰባ ውሳኔ ከላይ እንዳልነው የለውጥ ፈላጊ ኃይሉ ማሸነፍ ውጤት ከሆነ፤ በዚያው ልክ ለውጡን የማይፈልገውና ነገሮች ባሉበት እንዲቀጥሉ የሚፈልግ፤ ስለዚህም ይህንን ሽንፈቱን በቀላሉ የማይቀበልና ያለውን አቅም ሁሉ ተጠቅሞ የለውጥ ሂደቱን ለማደናቀፍ፤ ካልቻለም ሀገሪቱን ወደ ቀውስ ለመክተት የሚፈልግ ኃይልም እንዳለ መገመት አስፈላጊ ነው። ይህ እኩይ ኃይል ለውጡን ማደናቀፍ የሚችልበት ደረጃ ላይ ከመድረሱ በፊት በኢህአዴግ ውስጥ ያሉ ድርጅቶች፥ ከኢህአዴግ ውጭ ለዚህ ለውጥ በጽኑ ሲታገሉ የነበሩ የፖለቲካ ድርጅቶችና በተለይ በትግሉ ሂደት ብዙ ህይወት ሲገብር የቆየው የለውጡ ዋና ኃይል የሆነው የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ በከፍተኛ ንቃት መጠበቅ ያለበት ጊዜ ነው።

አርበኞች ግንቦት ሰባት ኢትዮጵያ ዉስጥ ህዝብ የሚፈልገዉ ለዉጥ በተለያየ መልኩ ሊመጣ እንደሚችልና ለውጥ ከየትም ይምጣ ከየት እውነተኛ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ለውጥን በደስታ እንደሚቀብል በተደጋጋሚ ገልጿል፥ ይህ እምነታችንና ፍላጎታችን አሁንም የጸና ነዉ። ከዚህ በተጨማሪ ከእውነተኛ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ስርዓት መመስረት ውጭ የሆነ ምንም አይነት ጥገናዊ ለውጥ እንደማይቀበልም በተደጋጋሚ ግልጽ አድርጓል። የዶ/ር አቢይን አህመድን መመረጥም የምናየዉ ከዚሁ አኳያ ነዉ። ዶ/ር አቢይና ኢህአዴግ ዉስጥ የሚገኙ የለዉጥ አራማጅ ሀይሎች የኢትዮጵያን ህዝብ ጥያቄ መመለስ የሚጀምሩ ከሆነና ሁሉን አቀፍ የሽግግር ሂደት ለመጀመር እጃቸዉን ለሁሉም የሚዘረጉ ከሆነ አርበኞች ግንቦት ሰባት ይህንን የለዉጥ ሂደት ይደግፋል፥ ለዉጤታማነቱ ይታገላል። ይህ በአንዲህ አንዳለ ግን ወደ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ስርአት የሚወስደን የሽግግር ሂደት ተጀምሮ ህዝባዊ ትግሉ አስተማማኝ ደረጃ ላይ መድረሱ እስከሚረጋገጥ ድረስ የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ የጀመረዉን የፍትህ፥የነጻንትና የዲሞክራሲ ትግል ለአንድም ቀን ቢሆን እንዳያቆም አርበኞች ግንቦት ሰባት በጥብቅ ያሳስባል።

አርበኞች ግንቦት 7

ድል ለኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ!!!

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የኦሮሞ ነፃነት ግንባር በሁለት አቅጣጫ በመንግስት ላይ ጥቃት ሰነዘርኩ አለ

ዋዜማ ራዲዮ- የኦሮሞ ነፃነት ግንባር ባለፉት ቀናት በደቡብ ምዕራብ ሞያሌ እና በምዕራብ ወለጋ አካባቢዎች በመንግስት ወታደሮች ላይ ጥቃት አድርሻለሁ ሲል አስታወቀ።

በአስመራ ዋና መቀመጫውን ያደረገው የኦሮሞ ነፃነት ግንባር የማዕከላዊ ኮሚቴ አባልና ከፍተኛ አመራር የሆኑት ቢሎ ገርቢ ለዋዜማ የኦሮምኛ ቋንቋ እንደተናገሩት መንግስት በሞያሌ በኦሮሞዎች ላይ ያደረሰውን ጥቃት ተከትሎ በሁለት አቅጣጫ በተደረገ የደፈጣ ጥቃት በመንግስት ላይ ጉዳት አድርሰናል ብለዋል።

በሞያሌ የውሀ ቦቴዎችን፣ ወታደራዊ ተሽከርካሪና በጉዞ ላይ በነበሩ ወታደሮች ተሽከርካሪ ላይ በተደረገ ጥቃት ሙሉ በሙሉ ውድመት አድርሰናል ብለዋል ቢሎ ገርቢ።

በምዕራብ ወለጋ ጊዳሚ በሚባል ቦታ ከአሶሳ ወደ ደምቢ ዶሎ በሚጓዙ የመንግስት ወታደራዊ ተሽከርካሪዎች ላይ በተፈፀመው ማጥቃት አንዱ ተሽከርካሪ ሙሉ በሙሉ ሌላው በከፊል ወድመዋል። ይጓጓዙ የነበሩ ወታደሮች ላይ ጉዳት የደረሰ ሲሆን አንድ የመንግስት ወታደር ብቻ ተርፏል ብለዋል አመራሩ።

በጉዳዩ ላይ የኣኢትዮጵያ መንግስት አስተያየትን ለማግኘት ተደጋጋሚ ሙከራ ብናደርግም የመንግስት ቃል አቀባዩ ስብሰባ ላይ በመሆናቸው ምላሽ አላገኘንም። መንግስት በአስመራ የሚደገፉ ሀይሎች በኢትዮጵያ ለተከሰተው ቀውስ ተጠያቂ ያደርጋል። በሞያሌ ለተፈፀመው ግድያም ኦነግን ማሳበቢያ አድርጎ ማቅረቡ ይታወቃል።

አቶ ቢሎ ገርቢ ድርጅታቸው በሞያሌ አካባቢ መንቀሳቀሱ አዲስ ነገር አለመሆኑንና ከቅርብ ጊዜ ወዲህ በተለያዩ አቅጣጫዎች ጥቃት በማድረስ በሀገር ቤት የሚደረገውን የኦሮሞ ህዝብ ትግል ለመደገፍ እየሞከረ መሆኑን አስምረውበታል።

አሁን ለተደረሰበት ደረጃ ከዚህ ቀደም ኦነግ ያደረገው ትግልና የከፈለው መስዋዕትነት ውጤት ነው ያሉት አቶ ቢሎ ከዚህም በኋላ ከህዝባችን ጎን በመሆን ትግሉን እንቀጥላለን ብለዋል።

በዳውድ ኢብሳ የሚመራውና በአስመራ የሚገኘው ኦነግ ነፃ ኦሮሚያን የመመስረት የፖለቲካ ግብ ያለው ሲሆን በኢትዮጵያ የሚካሄደውን ህዝባዊ ተቃውሞ እየመራሁ ያለሁት እኔ ነኝ ሲል ከዚህ ቀደም አስታውቋል።

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‘አራት ናቸው’ – ኤርሚያስ ለገሰ

Ermias Legesse on the current Ethiopian political turmoil and solutions

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‘We strongly disagree’ U.S. Embassy on Ethiopia’s state of emergency

U.S. Embassy Statement on the Ethiopian Government’s Declared State of Emergency

We strongly disagree with the Ethiopian government’s decision to impose a state of emergency that includes restrictions on fundamental rights such as assembly and expression.

We recognize and share concerns expressed by the government about incidents of violence and loss of life, but firmly believe that the answer is greater freedom, not less.

The challenges facing Ethiopia, whether to democratic reform, economic growth, or lasting stability, are best addressed through inclusive discourse and political processes, rather than through the imposition of restrictions.

The declaration of a state of emergency undermines recent positive steps toward creating a more inclusive political space, including the release of thousands of prisoners. Restrictions on the ability of the Ethiopian people to express themselves peacefully sends a message that they are not being heard.

We strongly urge the government to rethink this approach and identify other means to protect lives and property while preserving, and indeed expanding, the space for meaningful dialogue and political participation that can pave the way to a lasting democracy.

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Association for Human Rights Launches New Report on Human Rights in Ethiopia

Full report in PDF  Ethiopia: Ailing Civic Space in an Authoritarian State.

The Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE) is pleased to announce the launch of its new report, “Ailing Civic Space in an Authoritarian State: The State of Human Rights Defenders and Cost of Dissent in Ethiopia.” This report aims to provide an overview of the situation of human rights in Ethiopia and to examine the increasingly restricted space in which human rights defenders (HRDs) operate, with particular attention to trends that have developed since the adoption of a series of repressive laws in 2009. While the Ethiopian government has made considerable strides in economic development, space for human rights dialogue has gradually disintegrated and many HRDs now face detention, torture, and harassment, while growing numbers now choose life in exile rather than remaining in the country.

After the highly controversial 2005 national elections, the Ethiopian Parliament enacted legislation that dramatically narrowed space for civil society, notably the Charities and Societies Proclamation, Mass Media Proclamation, and the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. These three laws have been heavily criticised for their restrictive provisions, which limit the work of journalists, HRDs, and civil society organisations through broad language and severe punishments.

Over the past two years, Ethiopia has been rocked by growing protest movements in different parts of the country, notably in the two most populous regions of Oromia and Amhara, and to a lesser extent the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR). Security officials responded to these mass protests with excessive force, which resulted in the killing of over a thousand people and the arrests of tens of thousands of demonstrators since 2014. These actions triggered timid condemnations from Ethiopia’s key partners and outcry from international human rights bodies. The widespread and deadly demonstrations led the government to declare a State of Emergency in October 2016 that lasted 10 months.

This report aims to document the deterioration of civic space in Ethiopia and the restrictions on HRDs, activists, bloggers, and other media professionals, which can be seen as roots of the current political crisis. This includes actions undertaken to limit the actions of non-governmental organisations, journalists, lawyers, and other professional and non-professional activities that aims to further the cause of human rights. By documenting the deteriorating human rights situation in Ethiopia, it is the intention of AHRE to provide human rights institutions, civil society, and concerned bodies with adequate source material to direct their efforts in addressing the overall conditions of HRDs and work towards rebuilding and strengthening civic space in Ethiopia. The report also features key recommendations to the government of Ethiopia, European Union, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, United Nations, donors, and allies.

Contacts:

Yared Hailemariam – Executive Director

Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE)

Phone +32 486 336367

Email: executive@ahrethio.org

https://ahrethio.org/

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ኤች አር 128 ለድምጽ አሰጣጥ ሊቀርብ ነው

ኤች አር 128 በመባል የሚታወቀውና በአሜሪካ ምክር ቤት የወጣው ረቂቅ ሕገ ውሳኔ በምክር ቤቱ ለድምጽ አሰጣጥ እንደሚቀርብ ታወቀ። ሕገ ውሳኔው ለድምጽ አሰጣጥ የሚቀርበው በኢትዮጵያ ያለው አገዛዝ የተባበሩት መንግስታት የሰብአዊ መብት መርማሪዎች በሀገሪቱ እየተፈጸመ ያለውን የሰብአዊ መብት ጥሰት እንዲያጣሩ እስከሚቀጥለው ወር ድረስ የማይፈቅድ ከሆነ ነው።

የኢትዮጵያ አሜሪካውያን ሲቪክ ካውንስል ከሌሎች የማህበረሰቡ ተወካዮችና ድርጅቶች ጋር በመሆን ትላንት ከአሜሪካ ምክር ቤት አባላትና ከተባበሩት መንግስታት ድርጅት የሰብአዊ መብት ኮሚሽን ተወካይ ጋ ኤች አር 128 ሕገ ውሳኔ ስለሚጸድቅበት መንገድ ተወያይተዋል።

ውይይቱ በአሜሪካ የተወካዮች ምክር ቤት የአብላጫ ወንበር ያለው የሪፐብሊካን ፓርቲ መሪ ኬቨን ማካርቲ ከኢትዮጵያውያኑ ተወካዮች ጋር ተገናኝተው ለመነጋገር በጠየቁት መሰረት የተካሄደ መሆኑን ለመረዳት ተችሏል።

በቀጣዩ ወር ማለትም እስከ የካቲት 8 ድረስ በኢትዮጵያ ያለው አገዛዝ የተባበሩት መንግስታት አጣሪ ቡድን በሃገሪቱ ገብቶ የተፈጸሙ የሰብአዊ መብት ጥሰቶችን እንዲያጣራ ፍቃድ እንዲሰጥ ቀነ ገደብ ለማስቀመጥ ስምምነት ላይ መደረሱን የውይይቱ ተሳታፊዎች ከጋዜጠኞች ጋር ባደረጉት ቃለ ምልልስ ተናግረዋል።

አገዛዙ ለዚህ የማይተባበር ከሆነ ግን ኤች አር 128 በመባል የሚታወቀውና በኢትዮጵያ የሰብአዊ መብት እንዲከበርና የመብት ጥሰት የፈጸሙትን በሕግ ተጠያቂ የሚያደርገው ሕግ በአሜሪካ ምክር ቤት እንዲጸድቅ እንደሚደረግ ለማወቅ ተችሏል።

የሕገ ውሳኔው ዋና አዘጋጅ የሆኑት የምክር ቤቱና የውጪ ጉዳይ ኮሚቴ አባል ክሪስ ስሚዝ የተባበሩት መንግስታት መርማሪዎች ሙሉ ለሙሉ በፈለጉበት ቦታ ተንቀሳቅሰው የተፈጸሙትን የሰብአዊ መብት ጥሰቶች እንዲያጣሩ አገዛዙ የማይፈቅድ ከሆነ ሕጉ በአስቸኳይ ይጸድቃል ብለዋል።

ይህም ብቻ ሳይሆን ክሪስ ስሚዝ እንዳሉት በመብት ጥሰቱ ተሳታፊ የሆኑ ግለሰቦችን በአለም አቀፉ ማግንትስኪ የሰብአዊ መብት ሕግ መሰረት በሕግ እንዲጠየቁ እንደሚደረግ አስታውቀዋል።

ሌላው የምክር ቤት አባል ማይክ ኮፍማን እንዳሉት ደግሞ አሜሪካ ለረጅም ጊዜ ከአገዛዙ ጋር ይላትን የጸጥታ ትብብር ሰበብ በማድረግ እየተፈጸሙ ያሉ የሰብአዊ መብት ጥሰቶችን ችላ ስትል መቆየቷ አግባብ እንዳልነበር ተናግረዋል።

አገዛዙ ሕዝቡን እያሸበረ አሜሪካ ትብብሯን መቀጠሏ አግባብ አይደልም ሲሉ ተደምጠዋል።

በኢትዮጵያ አሜሪካውያን ሲቪክ ካውንስል ተወካይ ዲያቆን ዮሴፍ ተፈሪ በበኩላቸው በውይይቱ ወቅት በምክር ቤቱ የአብላጫ ወንበር ያለው የሪፐብሊካን ፓርቲ መሪ ኬቨን ማካርቲ እንደተገኙና እሳቸውም በኢትዮጵያ ያለውን የመብት ረገጣ በቅርብ እንደሚከታተሉት ገልጸውላቸዋል።

ኬቨን ማካርቲ ሕጉን የማስቆም ፍላጎት እንደሌላቸው ይሁን እንጂ አገዛዙ አንድ እድል እንዲሰጠው እንደሚፈልጉ ተናግረዋል ብለዋል።

በዚህም መሰረት የተባበሩት መንግስታት ድርጅት መርማሪዎች ፍቃድ የማያገኙ ከሆነ ሕጉን ተግባራዊ ለማድረግ ስምምነት ላይ ተደርሷል ብለዋል።

በውይይቱ ላይ የተገኙት የተባበሩት መንግስታት የሰብአዊ መብት ኮሚሽን ተወካይም አገዛዙ ለጥያቄው አዎንታዊ መልስ የሚሰጥ ከሆነ የኮሚሽኑ ባለሙያዎች ወዲያውኑ የማጣራት ስራቸውን እንደሚጀምሩ ተናግረዋል።

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